The expanded Club World Cup is a thorn in the side of the players’ unions. Now Fifpro and the European leagues are turning to the world association with a complaint.
In the dispute over the increasingly condensed football calendar, the European Leagues and the players’ union Fifpro have filed a complaint with the EU Commission against the world association FIFA. This is stated in a jointly published statement. “Legal action is the only remaining way to protect the welfare of the players, the national leagues and the future leadership,” the statement said.
The number of possible competitive matches in professional football will increase again for the new 2024/25 season. In the Champions League of the European Football Union UEFA, there will be two additional group matches and optionally two additional matches in the knockout phase. In addition, the FIFA Club World Cup will be expanded to become a major event in the summer. “The international match calendar is now oversaturated and unsustainable for the national leagues. It poses a risk to the health of the players,” wrote the two organizations.
FIFA rejects allegations
The decisions of the world association have “repeatedly favoured their own competitions and commercial interests, neglected their responsibilities as an umbrella organisation and harmed the economic interests of the national leagues as well as the welfare of the players”.
The world association firmly rejected the allegations. “The current calendar was unanimously approved by the FIFA Council, which is made up of representatives from all continents, including Europe, after a comprehensive and extensive consultation in which FIFPRO and league committees also participated,” it said in response. In contrast to “some leagues in Europe”, FIFA must protect the overall interests. This also includes “protecting the players at all levels”.
Club World Cup instead of Confederations Cup
Back in June, Fifpro announced that it would file a legal claim with the Brussels Commercial Court. In addition to the Club World Cup, the claim is also directed against “FIFA’s decisions to unilaterally determine the international match calendar,” which determines the timetable for international matches and competitions.
The Club World Cup, planned for June 2025 in the USA, will be held for the first time with 32 teams, including FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Seven teams have taken part so far. The new tournament, planned every four years, replaces the previous Confederations Cup. FIFA had rejected criticism of an overly full game calendar at the time.
Source: Stern
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